Green Living

New York State Expands Bottle Bill

This past Saturday, October 31, 2009, New York State expanded its "Bottle Bill," the five cent beverage container deposit law, to include water bottles. Starting from that date, all water containers below a gallon in size sold in the state now carry a five cent refundable deposit, though a "grace period," during which stores can still sell water bottles without the deposit label without incurring fines, will be in effect until Sunday, November 8, 2009. The new law also requires beverage companies to transfer 80 percent of the unclaimed deposits they collect to the state, in addition to other program changes and updates, which went into effect over the summer.

Environmental and community groups have been pushing New York lawmakers to update the Bottle Bill since 2000, seeing it as out of step with consumer tastes. According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), more than 3.2 billion water bottles are sold each year in New York, which amounts to nearly a quarter of the state's total beverage sales. Before the legislature enacted the deposit, fewer than 20 percent of these bottles were recycled; instead, they constituted the number one most commonly found item of litter. Now, the 1982 Bottle Bill will cover nearly 90 percent of New York's beverage containers, with the exceptions of iced teas, sports drinks, juices, and other non-carbonated beverages.

We can always improve our recycling habits, but this expansion of the state Bottle Bill is an exciting milestone for those who want to clean up our state. So remember, if you sip from a plastic water bottle (though I encourage you to opt for stainless steel instead), make sure you recycle it. You'll get a five cent deposit and the satisfaction of having taken steps to keep our communities beautiful.